From SAP ERP 6.0 to SAP S/4 HANA in Four Steps

From
SAP ERP 6.0 to SAP S/4 HANA in Four Steps

转自: http://news.sap.com/from-sap-erp-6-0-to-sap-s4hana-in-four-steps/

You can migrate to SAP S/4HANA using
the standard migration paths. For those already running SAP ERP 6.0,
a system conversion is the correct method.

SAP
S/4HANA is the next generation of the SAP Business Suite enterprise software
from SAP. Based on the SAP
HANA in-memory platform, SAP developers have carefully tailored the solution
to meet the needs and challenges of the digital economy. Not only can companies
optimize existing processes, but they can now also realize new processes to
assert their advantage in the digital competition.

By employing SAP S/4HANA as the
digital core of their IT architectures, enterprises can firmly focus on digital
processes, where business scenarios are effectively implemented and powerfully
marketed. As such, SAP S/4HANA is more than just a successor to SAP
Business Suite, it represents a completely new product line.

The migration to SAP S/4HANA is
therefore not a one-off project such as an upgrade or database migration.
Instead, it involves the entire IT system landscape. Enterprises should always
plan the transformation in terms of their optimum future SAP target
architecture. This makes life much simpler for users: Thanks to the holistic
nature of the transformation, it allows often complex and heterogeneous IT
system landscapes to be eliminated (unlike a pure migration to SAP HANA),
laying the foundations for simpler, more streamlined processes.

Three Paths
to the Destination

As with the SAP Business Suite,
enterprises can choose from three possible methods for migrating to
SAP S/4HANA: greenfield, system conversion, or landscape transformation.
In assessing which path is the right path, the target architecture alluded to
above is very important (more on this topic later in the first article of our
series “SAP
S/4HANA: Chart the Route for Digital Transformation”). Companies that are already running SAP ERP 6.0 (enhancement package 0 and
higher) can migrate directly to SAP S/4 HANA with a system conversion.

Which path is the right path for my company? A decision matrix illustrates
the various paths for migrating to SAP S/4HANA.

System
Conversion

In technical terms, a system conversion to
SAP S/4HANA retains the system ID for Customizing, development, data,
authorizations, and interfaces. This is also known as in-place migration. For
systems running SAP ERP 6.0 enhancement package 0 and higher,
companies can migrate directly to SAP S/4HANA without having to upgrade to
a higher enhancement package. This assumes that the system is already a Unicode
system. Following the release of SAP NetWeaver 7.5, SAP only supports
Unicode systems. If a company’s system is not Unicode, it must be converted to
Unicode before the conversion. The actual system conversion to SAP S/4HANA
is supported by the SUM-DMO, the Software Update Manager with Database
Migration Option. This helps companies upgrade and migrate databases in one
step, meaning just one period of downtime.

Readiness
Checks Pave the Way for the Migration

To ensure the migration is successful,
companies need to adjust their IT systems to meet the framework requirements of
SAP S/4HANA during the system conversion. It is best to analyze the
required adjustments in four steps. This “readiness check” for SAP S4/HANA
should be performed as early as possible to obtain an overview of possible
adjustments. These preparatory measures can then be analyzed during live
operation where applicable.

Step 1:
Maintenance Planner

The Maintenance Planner checks an
organization’s business functions, industry solutions, and IT system add-ons.
If the check does not produce a valid conversion path (for example, because an
add-on has not yet been published), the Maintenance Planner prevents the system
conversion because no stack XML file can be generated. In this case, the relevant
partner should be contacted to find out when the add-on will be released. For
sandbox system conversions, it is possible to create an exception to continue
the system conversion without an add-on release.

Step 2:
Simplification List

At a functional level, the simplification
list provides a detailed description of how SAP S/4HANA will impact the
individual transactions and solution functions of the SAP ERP system. If
this list shows transactions or functions no longer exist, this does not mean
that certain functions will be lost. Instead, these functions will be merged
with other elements or reflected in a new solution or architecture.

The individual objects of the
simplification list are dependent on the current SAP S4/HANA Feature
Package Stack, and can be grouped into the following categories:

• Changes to existing functions
• Functions no longer supported
• Functions that are no longer strategic

  At present, numerous objects of the
  simplification list can already analyzed using pre-checks (see the next step).
  Other automated processes to determine whether simplification objects are
  relevant with regard to customer-specific system usage are currently being
  planned. It is worth noting that not all points are relevant for a system.
  Instead, the effort required for the conversion should be determined for the
  relevant points.

   

  Step 3:
  Pre-Checks

  Pre-checks review the system settings that
  are required to perform the actual system conversion. These are available to
  customers in the form of SAP Notes, and can therefore also be used in
  step 2.

   

  Step 4:
  Review the Customer Codes

  One of the most important features of
  SAP S4/HANA is the simplification of the data model. SAP provides
  compatibility views for tables that are no longer required in the migration to
  SAP S/4HANA. SAP also provides a check tool based on
  SAP NetWeaver 7.5 that checks necessary adjustments, for example
  adjustments required for field length extensions. The SAP S/4HANA
  simplifications can be imported in a file, and compared with a code extract of
  the SAP ERP system. A list is created showing the reviewed customer code
  and indicating any code that needs to be changed to make it compatible with
  SAP S/4HANA. There are plans to fully integrate these checks as a check
  variant of the SAP Code Inspector in future. The tool currently supports
  checks of the adjustment of the material number lengths.

   

  Migration
  via SAP S/4HANA Finance

  The migration to SAP S/4HANA can also
  be performed with an interim step for SAP S/4HANA Finance. The logistical
  processes have not yet been simplified in this step. In technical terms, this
  is an add-on that is available as an add-on for enhancement package 7 for
  version 1503, or an add-on for enhancement package 8 for
  version 1605. Again, the migration is possible in one step, and the system
  must be a Unicode system. SAP provides customers with an ABAP report to check
  the requirements for this type of migration. This report must be run in the
  local SAP ERP system.